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[via press release]

André “3000” Benjamin Series Class of 3000 Set to Debut in November on Cartoon Network

Acclaimed Musical Artist and Actor Serves as Executive Producer, Music Director and Star

Class of 3000, the highly anticipated primetime half-hour animated series created and executive produced by André Benjamin (OutKast) and Tom Lynch (Romeo!), will debut in November.  The series focuses on a group of musically-gifted kids and an unlikely visitor who brings sunshine to their lives.

The students attend the prestigious Westley School of the Performing Arts in Atlanta.  They all come from different parts of the city and all walks of life.  The students’ common link is that they are all musical prodigies.  But their lives change when Sunny Bridges, who attended the school as a kid and has gone on to international superstardom, returns to Westley looking for something he lost.

In addition to his creative responsibilities including, production and writing contributions, voice and music direction, André Benjamin will also lend his voice to the lead character, Sunny Bridges.

Also part of the cast of Class of 3000, are veteran voice actors Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants, Camp Lazlo), Crystal Scales (Static Shock, The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron), Jennifer Hale (Samurai Jack, The Powerpuff Girls), Janice Kawaye (Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi) and Jeff Glen Bennett (Johnny Bravo, Camp Lazlo).

Class of 3000 is produced by Cartoon Network, in conjunction with the Tom Lynch Co. and André Benjamin’s production company, Moxie. Twelve half-hour episodes and a one-hour premiere are in production at Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank, Calif.

Benjamin and Lynch are the executive producers of Class of 3000.  The show’s co-executive producer and head writer is Patric M. Verrone, a writer for Futurama, The Critic and Pinky and the Brain and a supervising producer on Futurama.   Joe Horne (The Boondocks, Teamo Supremo, The Oblongs) joined Class of 3000 as supervising producer.

André Benjamin is best known as one half of the Grammy-winning musical group OutKast.  His acting career includes roles in feature films Four Brothers, starring Mark Wahlberg; Be Cool, starring John Travolta; Hollywood Homicide, featuring Harrison Ford and the upcoming Idlewild.  He also lends his voice to Elwyn in the film Charlotte’s Web, which blends live-action and animation and will be released in 2006. His Atlanta-based production company, Moxie develops original feature films, as well as episodic television.

Tom Lynch has been an innovator in the field of kids, tween and teen programming for the past 20 years. His groundbreaking debut series, KIDS Incorporated, was the first variety show for youngsters, and his series The Secret World of Alex Mack was both the first series created for tweens and the first show to feature a tween girl as its central character. Since then, Lynch has continued to blaze new trails with such original programs as the Emmy-nominated Scout’s Safari (filmed in South Africa) and Romeo!, starring the real life musician Romeo and his father, music mogul Master P.

Cartoon Network (CartoonNetwork.com), currently seen in more than 88 million U.S. homes and 160 countries around the world, is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.’s ad-supported cable service offering the best in original, acquired and classic animated entertainment for kids and families.  Overnight from 11 p.m.-6 a.m. (ET, PT) Sunday-Thursday, Cartoon Network shares its channel space with Adult Swim, a late-night destination showcasing original and acquired animation for young adults 18-34.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and the leading provider of programming for the basic cable industry.